Top Ten Worst Taylor Swift Songs Shared by her Fans

By Jordan Hicks on 2016-11-12

In spire of renowned reputation in the music industry, Taylor Swift has delivered some poor songs. Here are a short review of her top ten worst songs shared by her fans.

Taylor Swift has made a steady climb to the top of the music charts, snagging lots of awards along the way, but sometimes those awards are less deserved than others. Granted she’s had a lot of hits, but not all hits are really good songs. Some of these hits suffer from poor writing and others gained her little more than bad media attention. Of course every worst list or best list is opinion based, but this list is based on the opinions of her fans, not on the single perspective of just one writer. Let's see what the fans had to say against their pop-country sweetheart.

Welcome to New York

This one is a strange step for T-Swizzle. Its the only song of this style she’s come out with and it released just about the time that she was having that big confrontation with Katy Perry. Its interesting because this song is quite like Katy Perry’s style. Maybe this was an attempt to step out from the genre she’s been working in, but if that was the case she really should have committed to it and come out with a more than one in this genre. Outside that being the case, this looks like an attempt to show up Katy Perry or even steal her fans, something in the line of “I can do anything you can do.” Its not so much a bad song, as it is an unusual departure. Should this become her new style, go for it, but if its just another move to show off and cause a scene, perhaps Tay should stick to the classics her fans love.

Blank Space

Hits the chart because of how many fans it lost her. Skirting the lines of telling the gory details of her hookup lifestyle, this song and paired video gained her little more than a reputation. Lyrics like “I can make a bad guy good for a weekend” and “find out what you want, be that girl for a month, but the worst is yet to come” left little to the imagination as to the sincerity of her relationship intentions at the time.

Bad Blood

She chimes off the concept of not tearing down other women, but then proceeds to break down Katy Perry while her dance crew prances about showing off how many “cool” friends she has. Theres a dozen or more cameos by a large group of Taylor’s friends, showing them as combat-ready heroines about to cross into a battle against a team of their own. Friends against friends sounds like the real insider story of the Katy Perry issue to a T. Im not sure if its the lyrics specifically or the video alone, more the combination of the two which adds this song to our worst list.

Sad Beautiful Tragic

Its been said this song was recorded in one take, and apparently her fans could tell and weren’t impressed. Some fans loved it of course, others perhaps listened a little harder, noting and questioning the sounds in the background vocals about half way through the recording which they described as “coming from a dying dog.” Still not sure what that sound was, but apparently they didn’t take the time to mix it out of the released version. Laziness or an attempt at creative genius which terribly missed the mark? We’re not sure, but it definitely hit our mark.

Tell Me Why

“I took a chance, I took a shot, And you might think Im bulletproof, but Im not, You took a swing, I took it hard, And down here from the ground I see who you are.” Sounds like abuse. No wonder she writes so many revenge dating songs if she’s dating guys who hit her. Yet she’s singing about missing him, “I need you like a heartbeat.” Last thing any of her fans needs is her encouraging them to stay in abusive relationships, clearly her fans felt the same cause she had quite a negative response to this one.

Shake It Off

Somewhere between the repetitive lyrics and the video, this song hit the charts with less than favorable responses from critics and fans alike. While the message may have been upbeat, the lyrics broke down to something wanting and then cycled over and over till even fans commented, “Oh please stop. My ears are burning.”, “My lord she tried to rap. What?!”, and simply put “annoying.” Then there’s the video which gained a serious blowback in the media for the portion that showed her crawling between the legs of other dancers who were twerking. The move was described by some as racist, and specifically in one instance she was said to have been “perpetuating black stereotypes to the same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice by proclaiming their love of the culture,” a quote from Earl Sweatshirt not having seen the video. Another source, the dance critic Brian Seibert, described the video as intending to portray Swift’s inability to fit to the social norms of those dance genres set up throughout the video, making a comedic joke about pop video conventions. Which perspective is more true is difficult to say, but what can be said for sure, is that the video and song gained little in the way of good media for the pop starlet.

Picture to Burn

Yet another break up song from the queen of break up songs, this one joined our list for its poor lyrical quality. “So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy, That’s fine I’ll tell mine that you’re gay!” Really? the first part may be right, but must you perpetuate the homophobia? Frankly, there’s no excuse for this line, if you’re going to threaten to insult somebody, find a better insult that doesn’t diminish other people in the mean time.

The Story of Us, Love Story, and Sparks Fly

These three are lumped in together because they are all guilty of the same crime; mixed metaphors that make no sense. In The Story of Us, “Now I’m searching the room for an empty seat, ‘Cause lately I don’t even know what page you’re on.” In Love Story, “‘Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter.” And in Sparks Fly, “The way you move is like a full on rainstorm, And I’m a house of cards.” Well those were certainly clear. There’s really nothing wrong with a mixed metaphor except when it doesn’t make a lot of sense. These three aren’t even the worst offenders of the mixed metaphor theme, in fact, Swift has a habit of using the same themes over and over, which brings us to our next on the list.

Stay Beautiful, Mary’s Song, and Invisible

“Cory’s eyes are like a jungle, He smiles, its like a radio, He whispers songs into my window, In words that nobody knows.” Lets break that down shall we? Cory is a radio, in the jungle, who hands out in front of people’s windows speaking in tongues no one understands. Gotcha. Mixed metaphors there, or maybe just strange lyrics, but also the first of the lights shining out of boy’s eyes theme. Enter lyrics from Mary’s Song, “But your eyes still shined like pretty lights.” Pretty lights, not a jungle, not ugly lights, but pretty lights. Follow that up with Invisible lyrics, “There’s a fire inside you, That can’t help but shine through.” And suppose that explains the shiny eyes.

Mean

“All you are is mean, And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life, And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean.” Wow… the repetition and lack of creativity on this one stings a bit. Actually it down right hurts. Its not her fault though, music in general has been making a steady downward fall since the seventies. Lyrics have been decreasingly interesting and insightful.

There’s no debating that Taylor Swift has made a name for herself and simply put become an icon for a generation. While she’s clearly got something going for her, she’s also got to be careful how far outside the track she’s in she tries to climb. It seems her fans like their sweet pop princess and like her less for each lashing hit against her competition and uncharacteristically harsh note she speaks. She may be verging on the same barrier that each of the Disney darlings face when stepping away from the safety of the sweet teen image into the aspirations of women. Hopefully she’ll learn from her predecessors’ actions and tread slowly and carefully along that dangerous cliff. It can be a steep climb successfully out of the shade of the Disney umbrella or a just as steep fall from fame depending on her choices.